The Torpedo opens with a piney hop bite that slowly dissipates, replaced by an orange-y sweet sourness with nice full malt overtones. The alcohol content makes it quite a “warming” beer. Toward the end of the taste, there is a sense of brown sugar, and the rich hoppiness appears again towards the end that slowly fades into an easy finish that creates a lingering citrus bitterness.

Today’s Beer of the day is brought to you from the Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland, and it’s their Kerberos Tripel (8.5% ABV). It’s a traditional Belgian-style Tripel with a dark golden color. It has a crisp, clean, sweet flavor with a dry and spicy finish. The aftertaste lingers on the palate with a hoppy bitterness.

This turned out to be a great sipping beer, and I will most likely buy it again.

Do you like Belgian Tripels? Have you tried the Flying Dog’s version?

Tip: on Flying Dog’s website, click on the “No” to the question “are you 21 years old or older?”. You’ll laugh at the results.

Found the Alaskan Amber (Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau Alaska) at the local beer store (John’s Grocery) and so far it was a great intro in getting ready for Spring beers. The Alaskan Amber had a lager-like smoothness with a sturdy malt fullness. I would have to say it was easy drinking and refreshingly light. Sweet malt in the aroma, with some ale-like fruitiness, but the flavor is long, smooth and pure. It all finishes off with a hint of sweetness giving way to a wine-like dryness.

I’m going to Alaska in a couple of weeks, so I can’t wait to try out some more offerings from Alaskan Brewing Co.!

I had the chance to sample Samuel Adams latest seasonal today, Samuel Adams Noble Pils. It has replaced their White Ale as the spring seasonal. It is a Pilsner style of beer that uses 5 different types of noble hops, which are the type of hops found in the hop-growing region of Germany (4 of the 5 come from there), and the Czech Republic (1 of the 5). More specific details can be found at beernews.org.

It was a very hop-forward type of beer with strong bitterness, and was very light and crisp. I believe the hoppiness was much stronger that a standard Pils, and I have a feeling that folks wanting the hop-presence of a Pale Ale with the lightness of a Pils will find this very enjoyable. Because the hops are noble, there is more of a spicy hop flavor and aroma than the standard citrusy flavor and aroma found in most U.S. pale ales.

I enjoy a bock very much, and I haven’t had one like this for some time, probably due to the fact they seem to be spring seasonal beers. To compare, it is very similar in flavor to the Leinenkugel’s 1888 seasonal bock or Granite City’s Brother Benedict’s Bock, except it has a bit more body and stronger caramel and toffee notes that make it very enjoyable. Unfortunately it won’t last long, so next time I need to bring in my growlers to take some home with me.

So, what’s your favorite spring beer? Is it a bock, or something else?